The invention relates to an apparatus for the sterilization of water by means of anodic oxidation comprising a reactor through which water flows and which has at least one anode and one cathode and also a power supply means.
Apparatus of this kind is for example known from DE-OS 2757 854. There the anodes and cathodes are formed by bars which are arranged in a grid-like manner and extend transversely through the reactor. The bars of the anode and of the cathode are respectively electrically combined with one another by a connection element which is connected in each case to the power supply. Between the bar grid of the anode and the bar grid of the cathode there are arranged a plurality of subsidiary electrode bar grids which extend parallel to the bars of the anode and the bars of the cathode. In this arrangement bar grid planes which lie behind one another in the flow direction are displaced in such a way that one bar of a subsequent bar grid plane is laterally displaced approximately into the centre of the spacing between two bars of a preceding bar grid plane.
This arrangement of electrodes or subsidiary electrodes is intended to ensure that the liquid passes through a region of changing potentials with turbulence.
A reactor is known from DE-PS 28 61 889 in which the electrodes are formed as bar or grid-like individual elements and through which water flows in cross-flow. In this manner, a turbulent flow is obtained in the reactor to improve of the convective material exchange at the electrode-phase boundary.
These known devices bring about considerable generation of electrolysis gases in addition to sterilization and these electrolysis gases adhere to the electrode surfaces and are intended to be carried away by the eddying of the flow.